Issue 14 - September 2026 Introduction Welcome from co-chairs Welcome to the first newsletter for the new academic year. We hope that you had a wonderful summer and are feeling suitable recharged for the year ahead. We are aware that the academic year in front of us is likely to be challenging and this is where the network can be of great support and is something positive in an ever increasingly complex landscape. We have various events planned for this year; events to cel

Play is a fundamental children's right under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN, 1998) and is central to learning, wellbeing, creativity and participation. Despite this, accountability demands, policy pressures and attainment-focused agendas continue to constrain opportunities for meaningful, self-directed play in educational settings (Bradbury et al., 2025). This raises an important question: if play is a child's right, why is it so difficult to sus

A few years ago, just before the first Covid-19 lockdown, I was fortunate to be part of a small intergenerational project between a nursery school and a residential care home. Intergenerational practice is the bringing together of children and older people to create positive relationships and meaningful connections. Each week a small group of 3 year olds and nursery school staff would visit their ‘older friends’ at the care home. The visits usually lasted for 30 minutes and l